After the release of Visual Studio 2012 Update 3 (RTM) in 26th June, Microsoft released the 4th Update to the web today, the 13th November 2013. Within this timeframe, they also released couple of intermediate release of the Update 4 for beta testing and bug fixes.

This includes the latest cumulative series of feature additions and bug fixes. If you are waiting for the final release of Update 4, it’s the time to update your IDE with latest set of features & fixes.

This update is the latest in a cumulative series of feature additions and bug fixes for Visual Studio 2012 to enhance and expand Visual Studio more frequently to support the latest software development innovations for building and managing modern app development.

Important Notes before Download

This update applies to Visual Studio and Team Foundation Server (TFS). The Visual Studio update is an update that installs on top of whatever is already installed on the computer. The TFS update is a full layout that replaces whatever is installed on the computer. Before you try to apply the TFS update, make sure that you have a full backup of your current databases. If the TFS update installation fails, you will be unable to restart the update or roll back to the earlier version of TFS without performing a restore.

Download

If you are looking to download the Visual Studio 2012 Update 4 (RTM), you can download it directly from Microsoft site listed below. Microsoft claims the setup package as virus free. The file is stored on security-enhanced Microsoft servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file. For a list of new technology improvements and fixed issue in Visual Studio 2012 Update 4, visit this page: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2872520#fixedissues

How to create an Offline Installer from the Web Installer?

The update is available as both web installer and offline installer (ISO), But in case you downloaded the web installer and want to create an offline package of the installer of it to install the same in multiple devices or a future installation with out internet connection, just follow the below steps.

Once you have downloaded the web installer, open your Console (cmd.exe) in administrator mode (recommended) and navigate to the path where you downloaded the said installer. Now in the console window, enter the following command clearly “VS2012.4.exe /layout” and follow the steps to download the whole package from Internet to your local drive for an offline installation.

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About Me

Kunal Chowdhury is a Windows Platform Development MVP of Microsoft, a Telerik MVP, Nokia Developer Champion, Speaker in various Microsoft events, Author, passionate Blogger and a Software Engineer by profession.